The Flash: "All Star Team Up"Review

It’s funny to think that The CW’s superhero universe used to consist solely of one show about a guy who shot people full of arrows for failing his city. Now this universe has grown to the point where one hero that spun out of Arrow can have a crossover with another hero who’s about to spin out of Arrow. Maybe we’re not at the point of a full-fledged Justice League crossover yet, but this week’s Flash took another important step in that direction thanks to an entertaining team-up between Barry Allen and Ray Palmer.

We’ve already seen Felicity appear in this show multiple times this season. Thanks to her chemistry with Barry, she makes for a natural and very welcome guest star whenever the situation allows. As it turns out, her latest billionaire superhero boyfriend is a pretty swell fit for this show as well. I’ve enjoyed the Ray/Felicity arc on Arrow this season, with the caveat that often the characters feel like they belong on a different, less morose series. Well, The Flash is that series. Even though this episode ventured into fairly dark territory, the dynamics among the Flash regulars and Ray and Felicity kept the story light and breezy.

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photo Gallery:

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

Advertisement

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

Advertisement

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

Advertisement

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

The Flash: "All Star Team Up" Photos

< Previous

Next >

There was a lot of fun to be had in seeing the two camps come together. Ray’s flashy debut as The Atom alone was well worth it, especially with the deadpan “It’s a bird. It’s a plane.” reaction from Caitlin and Felicity. The humor continued as the Star Labs crew realized how unfortunately alike Felicity and Ray can be when it comes to unintentional innuendo. But easily the highlight of the week was the bromance that quickly developed between Ray and Cisco. Whether it was Cisco’s lukewarm reaction to the Atom name, their mutual geeking out over the suit tech, or the way they both arrived simultaneously at the name “Bug-Eyed Bandit,” the two were a hoot.

But again, this episode offered a fair amount of drama alongside all the group bonding and innuendo. This episode explored the notion of secrecy and the toll Barry’s web of deception is beginning to take on his relationships. I was really pleased to see this element become such a focus. At times I’m not even sure why Barry has to be as secretive as he is with characters like Iris. It sure hasn’t kept her out of danger so far. This episode better justified all the secrets as it hammered home the idea that Barry is at a point where he really doesn’t know whom he can trust with the knowledge he’s gained about Wells. Can he even trust Cisco and Caitlin with that information? Given all they’ve been through this year, you’d think the answer would be a resounding “yes.” But on the other hand, you’d never think the seemingly benevolent, paraplegic Dr. Wells was actually a time-travelling speedster wearing another man’s skin.

There was definitely some foreshadowing at play as Barry wondered how Cisco and Caitlin would each react to the revelation. Assuming these characters follow the same basic trajectory as their comic book counterparts, one is destined to become a hero and the other a villain. Could this be the catalyst that drives them apart and starts Caitlin on her journey towards becoming Killer Frost? I hate to think of this threeway friendship splintering, but that may be where our heroes are headed.

Big things are definitely brewing for Cisco, at least. This week we learned that he’s being plagued by visions of the alternate timeline where he discovered the truth about Wells only to die at his super-speed hand. It’s beginning to look like he’s become slightly unstuck from his own reality. Between his first death at Well’s hand and Barry using his super-speed to revive him, is Cisco making his transformation into Vibe? Regardless, his role in the show is only growing more interesting.

Eddie also deserves a mention this week. Too often his character seems like an afterthought amid all the other running conflicts. But he suffered worse than anyone when it came to the issue of rampant secrets. He didn’t really ask to be dragged into Barry’s mess. It seemed like there might even be some resentment at play now as he watches the Flash do the police force’s work for them. And now the fact that his relationship with Iris is crumbling because he’s being forced to keep secrets from her? You really have to feel for the guy. How much of a connection Eddie has to Eobard Thawne is very much the question right now, but you can definitely see how all this tension could snowball into an active hatred of the Flash.

“All Star Team Up” didn’t disappoint when it came to the actual superhero team-up, either. As with his recent Arrow appearances, it’s impressive to see just how robust the special effects are when it comes to Atom’s suit. The dual-front battle against the Bug-Eyed Bandit’s bees wasn’t this show’s most memorable action sequence, but then again, The Flash has set a pretty high bar for that sort of thing. At the very least, this villain was a good choice in terms of how her robo-bees offered a clear and believable (if slightly goofy) threat to both a speedster and an armored techno-hero.

As is often the case, it seems like they could have done more to flesh out Brie and her motivations. All we really learned about the character is that she was fired, took it way too hard, and is entirely too fond of making bee puns. To bee fair, too much attention devoted to her would have taken vital away time from the rest of the characters. I just would have liked it if the script could have illuminated Brie's motivations in a less clunky fashion than simply relying on Dr. McGee's exposition. Hopefully more can be done with the villain down the road, either on this show or the mysterious spinoff we’ve been hearing so much about.

The Verdict

The Flash delivered another winner this week as the show made the most of the first meeting between Barry Allen and Ray Palmer. This episode offered a satisfying blend of humorous character moments and darker drama as the secrets in Barry's life began to take their toll. Sure, it was disappointing to see another underdeveloped villain, but the Bug-Eyed Bandit was more a means to an end.